After we moved to SharePoint online, users did not know how to find or change permissions in folders and items anymore. In general I prefer to keep it that way 🙂 but I was curious to learn how it was done now, since I provide support on permissions issues.

Permissions pages for sites and lists/libraries have not changed for ages, but in SharePoint Online you have to follow a different path than before to get to the permissions page for folders, documents and list items.

When talking about the permissions page: I am referring to a page like this:

The permissions page has a complete overview of groups and individuals, the ribbon, and a yellow bar with information about unique permissions in this unit, users with limited access and more.

Of course you can see the permissions page via my new BFF, the link “show items with unique permissions” on the Site Permissions page, but there are times when you do not want to see if there happens to be an exception, but what the permissions actually are for a certain folder or item.
(I recently saw a site with so many unique permissions that I completely lost track and could not figure out what was NOT in that list)

I am not very good at drawing or illustrations, but I want to learn. Here’s my attempt to show how to find the permissions page for a team site, containing a list, containing a folder, containing an item. (An item can be inside or outside a folder)

Folders and items: Details pane in list/library

Whether the item is in a folder or not, in both situations the permissions page is found via the details pane.

The details pane is on every list/library and is context-sensitive. When you select a folder, document or item it shows info for the selected item.

You need to be in the list or library (i.e. via Site Contents) to see the details pane. When you click “Change permissions” under “Has access” (this will be under the metadata) you will see this:

Go to the permissions page via the details pane

You can also go to the above place by using the new Share interface and clicking the … top right and then the “Manage Access” link that appears which leads to a similar pop up as the screenshot above. Click “Advanced” to go to the Permissions page.

The new Share interface with …

Folders and items – Share/Get a Link in web part

If you use a list or library web part, and the … are displayed, you can use the “Share” or “Get a Link” option to get there using the “Shared with” link and then clicking “Advanced”. The web parts use the “old” Share experience, which I expect will be replaced with the new Sharing experience, above.

Web parts still use the “old” Share interface. I expect this will change over time.